a deep voice that sounds like he gargles gravel every morning. He’s sexy,” she said dispiritedly.
Only her sister would understand why the prospect of working with a drop-dead gorgeous man would make a sane woman sound as depressed as Dakota did at the moment. Billie hastened to offer comfort. “Look honey, just because you were engaged to the world’s biggest fool doesn’t mean that all men are cut from that particular cloth. Lying, cheating, insincere cloth,” she mumbled. In a normal speaking voice she went on. “Just because that jughead did what he did doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of your life distrusting men.”
“You’ve been watching Dr. Keith again, haven’t you? Look, I’m just trying to get my house fixed properly. This guy could look like Alfred E. Neumann and I wouldn’t care. The fact that I’m on an emotional hiatus which may prove permanent has nothing to do with this man, believe me.” Her words sounded a little too emphatic, even to her own ears. “He has green eyes, did I tell you? With long eyelashes.” Horrified, she covered her mouth even though no one could see her.
Billie, bless her heart, was trying gamely to change the subject. “So what’s the apartment like?”
“Like a pimp’s pleasure palace,” Dakota said succinctly.
“Quit exaggerating! It doesn’t look like that,” Billie said with a laugh.
“Oh, yes it does,” Dakota said promptly. “This is the tackiest place I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Earlier that day, while he was endeavoring to prove to Dakota that he was worthy of her trust, Nick had taken her over to his brother’s house to meet his family. He figured that if she met some sane, down-to-earth people who could vouch for him it would go a long way towards convincing her that he wasn’t an ax murderer or something worse. So they went to the house and everything was the very image of an all-American family on a Sunday afternoon. Paul was grilling in the backyard and Patsy, wearing an apron over her church dress, was stirring a big pan of fried corn on the stove. Ebony was putting the finishing touches on a tasty-looking tossed salad which she almost knocked off the table when she looked up to see the person standing next to her uncle.
“Oh my God,” she gasped, earning a stern look from her mother.
“What have I told you about taking the Lord’s name in vain?” She shook her head and patted her hands dry on a linen towel as she smiled at Dakota. “Come on in, sweetie. I’m Patsy Hunter, Nick’s sister-in-law. This is my daughter, Ebony, and she’s a little beside herself because she’s such a fan of yours. She’s read everything you’ve ever written.”
Ebony sat frozen in her chair, nodding her head like a bobble-head doll and then she found her voice. “Miss Phillips, I’m so sorry about yesterday, I really am. I feel really, really awful about it, I do. And I’m probably your biggest fan in the world,” she said sincerely. “I’m majoring in journalism because you inspired me so much and I’ve always wanted to meet you and I really hate that I wrecked your car to do it,” she ended with a sad face.
Dakota smiled at the young woman and went to the kitchen table in the center of the large sunny room to take a seat across from her. “That was the nicest apology I’ve ever gotten, although it was totally unnecessary. Driving a stick isn’t the easiest thing in the world to learn and you have nothing to be sorry about. I should apologize to you for being such a harpy yesterday. I was just overly tired, although that’s no excuse for making you feel bad.”
Ebony was beaming so brightly it looked as if her face was going to split. Patsy was smiling, too. She batted her eyes at Nick and said, “Well, this is the sweetest lady you’ve ever brought over here, Nick. I hope we see a lot more of her.”
Nick was leaning against the wall, watching the scene in front of him with amusement. Dakota was trying to control her face, but he knew she’d heard what Patsy had just said. He could have made it easy for her, but he was enjoying the little tableau too much. He liked seeing Dakota off her game for a minute so he could see the real woman behind the mask she wore for the public. She looked pretty and flustered and a little embarrassed and it was cute as hell. It gave him a feeling of power over her and he liked it, liked it a lot for some reason. And when Patsy insisted she stay for dinner, he wasn’t the least bit surprised.
Dakota protested, saying she didn’t want to impose, and Patsy and Ebony assured her it wasn’t an imposition in the least. Paul came in with a tray of grilled chicken and steak that smelled heavenly and in short order they were all sitting around the dining-room table enjoying a lovely meal. Ebony was questioning her about her work and Patsy was hanging on every word while Paul kept looking from Nick to Dakota and trying hard not to laugh. Nick knew he was eating her up with his eyes, but he didn’t care. Every so often she’d look at him with her pretty black eyes sparkling like stars and he loved every little sensation that resulted from her glances. For some reason he was comfortable around her, more comfortable than he could remember being in a long time and he enjoyed the feeling immensely.
She seemed to be having a good time, too. She answered all of Ebony and Patsy’s questions with genuine interest, and she had some words of advice for Ebony regarding her chosen major. “And I’ll help you get an internship next summer,” she promised the young woman. Ebony’s eyes welled up with happy tears and Dakota, who was seated next to her, squeezed her hand firmly.
“Don’t thank me. You may end up hating me before it’s over. It won’t be easy,” she cautioned. “But you’ll learn so much it’ll be worth it. Nothing beats on-the-job training. And by the way, I’d love to take a look at some of your writing.”
Ebony’s eyes had widened and she got up from the table, telling Dakota she’d be right back. As she was leaving the room, Dakota glanced at the clock on the wall and told Nick she needed to get back to the brownstone. “I really need to get back and see about my girl. She’s been alone way too long and there’s no telling what she’s gotten into. And I need to feed her, too. She’s probably starving by now.”
Patsy looked horrified. “You left your child alone at that half-done house?” she sputtered indignantly.
Dakota opened her mouth to explain, but Nick was already taking care of it. “Her ‘girl’ is her cat, Patsy. This cat is something else,” he said. “Her name is Cha-Cha and she looks like a fox. She’s kinda red with a big fluffy tail and big ears and big green eyes. She’ll follow you around like a dog and if you throw a ball or a stick she’ll go fetch it. And she eats greens and cornbread, believe it or not. Miss Cha-Cha is a hot mess,” he chuckled.
Patsy’s eyes widened and she threw her husband a quick glance before turning to Dakota. “What kind of cat is she?”
“She’s a Somali. They’re kind of rare, I guess. I’d never seen one until I was doing research for a book about this poor woman who was…well, let’s just say she met an untimely demise. Anyway, she was a breeder of Somali cats and her family was so happy that I was writing the truth about what happened to her, they gave me a kitten. She’s a handful, but I love her to death. They act kind of like dogs in a way because they’re very active and they rip and run through the house a few times every day. They’re also very smart and they can get into anything, cupboards, refrigerators, drawers, you name it,” she said.
“Yeah and they can lock doors, too. Miss Cha-Cha locked Dakota out of her house today,” he said with a sexy smile that was just for Dakota.
“She’s a mess, but I still have to feed her. I don’t like leaving her alone in a strange place for so long.”
Nick agreed it was time to go get Cha-Cha and take her to her new home. “I’ll even stop and get her some soul food on the way.”
Dakota smiled and shook her head. “You’re going to spoil her. She’s already crazy about you and you’re just making it worse.”
They thanked Patsy and Paul for the meal and Dakota offered again to help clean up. Paul said that’s why they had children. “Patsy kept asking me for a dishwasher so I gave her four,” he said with a straight face. “The